The agreement would divert China's attention and keep them busy in the Pacific theatre, probably resulting in a reduction in threat perception in our area of interest in the Indian Ocean, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are an asset that any country aspiring to become a major power would give anything to own.' 'It is disappointing that India has not capitalised on this potential,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
'Clearly, Washington has all but given up hope following US Acting Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells's stormy visit to Colombo last month where she read the riot act to Sri Lankan leaders to sign the pending status of forces agreement allowing American troops to use Sri Lanka as a hub for operations in the Indian Ocean,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Describing Pakistan's North Western Frontier Province area as the "fountainhead" of terror activities in the region, India on Thursday said use of terrorism as state policy with deep roots in military establishment there is a major obstacle for peaceful bilateral ties.
The navy wants to spend Rs 40,000 crore on INS Vishal, a choice the army and air force oppose. This is as much about turf as about funding. explains Ajai Shukla.
Star gazers in India witnessed the last stage of a total lunar eclipse, the second and last one of the year on Wednesday. The moon will be below the horizon during most of the eclipse.
As Navy chief, Admiral Singh's immediate priority will be to expedite the long-delayed modernisation of the Indian Navy, including by inducting new warships, submarines and aircraft.
As a percentage of the military budget, the navy's share has fallen from 19 per cent in 2010-2011 to just 15.5 per cent this year. With the Indian Navy's annual budget declining steadily, security planners are reluctant to green light crucial projects, discovers Ajai Shukla.
India and Japan are set to intensify defence cooperation with the two sides likely to launch a security consultative framework involving their foreign and defence ministers.
Cyclonic storm Ashobaa is expected to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm and then move northwestwards during next 24 hours.
The United States has carried out airstrikes against Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militants in Somalia and is now assessing the results of its "operation" against the hardline militia, the White House said.
Steady progress in June; north and central regions to get good pre-showers
The vehicle can rescue as many as 14 people in one dive.
There is no conceivable reason for any big power to put road blocks on the path of an India-Pakistan normalisation process, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Members of Indian Armed Forces on Thursday morning celebrated the fourth International Yoga Day in some the most difficult terrains. Spectacular pictures showed the Armed Forces practising yoga asanas in desert, river and on naval ships.
The onus today is on China, but it also requires a little diplomatic finesse from India, backed by a modernised armed force, argues BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in this excerpt from his new book, Himalayan Challenge: India, China And The Quest For Peace.
'If all goes well, Modi will visit the Maldives later this year. But two Indian concerns remain unaddressed: President Yameen's intentions about Mohammad Nasheed and China,' says Rajeev Sharma.
Swarms of immature pink locusts and adult yellow locusts are currrently active. Not only are fresh locusts swarms expected to arrive in the coming weeks, but even those already present in India have mated and are breeding new offspring.
If the aim is to become a player with some strategic space of its own, not just in the Indian Ocean region but also in the adjoining region, then greater interaction with China is desirable, even necessary.
Anybody who's plugged in to the modern, globalised world will understand why, says Kanika Datta.
India, China must further strengthen business ties for growth.
'People should realise that what we are fighting for today is actually for tomorrow, for future generations.'
Ahead of the International Fleet Review being held in Vizag, Naval chief Admiral RK Dhowan spoke of the changing perception of the navy and the many challenges it faces.
We can make a beginning by openly acknowledging the Russian help in 1971 victory when President Putin visits India on 6 December 2021. Showing gratitude to a friend is part of our DNA, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
It will not be to India's advantage to create misperceptions that it is bandwagoning with some Anglo-American project for regime change in Myanmar, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
By jettisoning the vision of multilateral world in favour of a Han Empire, China has posed a major long term challenge to India. India must stand firm against Chinese expansionism but also keep a door open for future detente by making a clear distinction between Chinese people and the current Chinese leadership, observe Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (Retd) and Colonel Anil Athale (Retd).
In New Delhi's corridors of power, debate continues on whether the navy even needs a third aircraft carrier.
Though the summer is expected to be hotter, global and domestic forecasts point to good rains.
Before migrating into the theatre command concept, it would be worthwhile to study the shortfalls experienced by the Tri Services Command in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and make good the deficiencies, suggests Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
We celebrate Dassera and regard it as an auspicious day as a day of victory of good over evil! So was 16 December! It is time we regard this day as auspicious as Dassera in future, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Islamic State terror group plans to seize Iran's nuclear secrets, unleash a vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing and Nazi-style eugenics to consolidate and expand its self-declared caliphate, according to a seized policy manifesto of the dreaded outfit.
Modi may take satisfaction from his display of considerable political skill in managing a mercurial, temperamental and unpredictable US president and nudging him into uncharacteristic restraint and even carefully orchestrated remarks. This personal chemistry will come in handy if Trump returns as president in the November elections, says former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
India and China on Friday held 'in-depth' discussions on addressing the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, holding that disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake provided a good basis to work towards their early resolution.
India on Friday said the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan has given 'good signals" in normalising bilateral ties but cautioned against expecting "magic overnight".
India and China on Friday agreed to hold the next round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh amid fresh sparring between the two sides on the prolonged Line of Actual Control (LAC) standoff.
'China's excessive military aid to Pakistan is the real elephant in the room as far as Sino-Indian relations are concerned. India should be confident enough to accept a degree of closeness between China and Pakistan, since China may wish to use this link for its foray into the Muslim world.' 'But the Chinese must be realistic enough to know that as time passes, the tactic of using Pakistan as a proxy to check India will yield diminishing returns. The US tried it for 60 years but failed, so will China,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Swaraj expressed satisfaction over the agenda of the inaugural dialogue while giving the details of the deliberations.
The statement came a day after Indian Army launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across LoC.
'India appears to have stood its ground on strategic autonomy by resisting US pressure on Russia, China and Iran, but succumbed to the temptation to walk into a tighter embrace in defence cooperation, a high priority of the Trump administration,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'We don't need to hinge India-UK relations on shared hostility toward China,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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